Court Upholds Citizen Suit Against "Trump Train" Participants

WASHINGTON - June 2, 2022 - PRLog -- Court Upholds Citizen Suit Against "Trump Train" Participants
Federal KKK Statute They Relied Upon Does Not Require Racial Animus

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 2, 2022) -  A  judge has upheld a civil law suit brought by Biden-Harris supporters who claim that a bus in which they were riding was deliberately  physically intimidated by Trump supporters  ("Trump Train"), notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who encouraged this and other similar law suits, and was one of the first to report its filing.

The suit was brought under a portion of a federal statute, often called the Ku Klux Klan Act [42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)].

Although the defendants argued that the statute authorized only law suits where there had been  racial animus or discrimination, the judge disagreed, and held that the suit could proceed, and that monetary damages could be awarded against those who participated - or even helped organize - the disruptive Trump Train.

This is an important victory for anyone concerned about the use of intimidation in political campaigns, noting that, for a variety of reasons, police often do not prevent it, and prosecutors too often don't effectively punish it.  So, he says, the best remedy is often for private citizens to "Sue The Bastards," a tactic he has been advocating, counseling about, and winning with for decades.

Here's what the law professor - who has been called "a Driving Force Behind the Lawsuits That Have Cost Tobacco Companies Billions of Dollars," a "King of Class-Action Law Suits," "The Man Behinds the Ban on Cigarette Commercials," the "Dean of Public Interest Lawyers," and an "Entrepreneur of Litigation, [and] a Trial Lawyer's Trial Lawyer" - wrote about and had predicted:

Victims of a criminal political protest - when Trump supporters allegedly harassed and tried to force their campaign bus off the road - have sued several members of the caravan (called the "Trump Train") in a civil law suit; accusing them of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which bars violent election intimidation, as well as local Texas laws.

As predicted and encouraged by the public interest law professor whose complaints triggered two separate criminal investigations of Trump in Georgia, this is only the latest is a growing number of law suits using civil actions to obtain some redress, and hopefully to also deter future unlawful actions, by those who engage in criminal conduct to advance a political purpose or goal.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf